Short Summary

In the early hours of today Turks and Greeks got together at Lurigina, near Larnaca, and arranged the transfer of nine hostages.

Description

In the early hours of today Turks and Greeks got together at Lurigina, near Larnaca, and arranged the transfer of nine hostages. Seven of them were Greek. The transfer was made after nine hours of argument.

On Monday Greek-Cypriot police arrested two Turks outside Lurigina for having a weapon in their car. They were taken to Larnaca and detained. In retaliation, villagers from Lurigina captured a bus and a patrol tanker. Altogether, IO Greeks were held, but two women and a child were later released.

The argument between the two sides revolved around who should be freed first. A compromise was reached with each side retaining a hostage until the operation was completed. For the Greeks, an army lieutenant stayed behind.